Filming finally begins on 'Black Water Transit'

After months of behind-the-scenes drama, the makers of the gritty crime film "Black Water Transit" -- starring Laurence Fishburne and directed by Tony Kaye -- turned their attention to onscreen action this week, with filming finally getting under way in New Orleans.

Cameras started rolling Monday on the film, based on the novel of the same name by Carsten Stroud and adapted for the screen by Matthew Chapman ("Runaway Jury"). Filming will continue through the middle of August at locations around the city, according to a film spokeswoman.

Locations will include the French Quarter, the 9th Ward and local military installations.

While in development, the film at times seemed stuck in a revolving door, with a new director, new production company and new stars coming on board. At various points, Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson were tentatively cast. None of those actors is still attached to the picture.

"Black Water Transit" tells the story of shipping executive Jack Vermillion (Fishburne), who finds himself getting more than he bargained for after agreeing to help feds expose smuggler and all-around bad seed Earl Pike (Urban). Stroud's novel is set in New York City, but the film will see that shift to post-Katrina New Orleans.

The production will do some filming in Africa, but the bulk will be done in New Orleans, the spokeswoman said.

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The men and women of "Black Water Transit" aren't the only cops and robbers in town.

The Tommy Lee Jones film "In the Electric Mist" -- an adaptation of one of James Lee Burke's popular Dave Robicheaux crime novels, "In the Electric Mist With the Confederate Dead" -- wrapped filming this week with a couple of days of shooting in New Orleans.

Most of the film was shot elsewhere in the state, including in Jeanerette, St. Martinville and New Iberia, but line producer John Hardy said the production needed to film a couple of local scenes before wrapping things up. "During many of those novels and in our screenplay, Dave goes to New Orleans to do some investigating, because he was formerly a policeman there," Hardy said.

"Electric Mist" weaves past and present together as production of a Civil-War-set movie becomes tangled with Robicheaux's latest investigation -- with some trippy Civil-War-era visions thrown in.

Other credited cast members in the star-studded film include John Goodman, Peter Sarsgaard, Mary Steenburgen, Ned Beatty and Levon Helm.

Though filming is complete, work will continue for local crews. Post-production work will be handled in New Orleans, Hardy said, including some audio work at Swelltone Labs.

Oscar-winner Jones (for "The Fugitive") is no stranger to New Orleans. He was here for the 1991 Oliver Stone thriller "JFK," in which he played businessman Clay Shaw. That role netted him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

This is the second time one of Burke's Robicheaux novels has been turned into a major motion picture. The first was in 1996, with "Heaven's Prisoners," featuring Alec Baldwin as Robicheaux.

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Other feature films setting up camp in Louisiana include:

"Mamma I Want to Sing," in production in Baton Rouge. Charles Randolph-Wright directs a big-screen adaptation of the gospel musical about a preacher's daughter and church choir member who reaches international fame. Grammy winners Ciara and Patti LaBelle are attached to the project, along with Emmy winner and Baton Rouge native Lynn Whitfield ("The Josephine Baker Story"), from Codeblack Entertainment.

"Loss of a Teardrop Diamond," in pre-production in Baton Rouge. Bryce Dallas Howard ("Spider-Man 3") is set to star in the adaptation of the Tennessee Williams story about a woman who falls in love with the down-and-out son of an alcoholic, much to the dismay of her disapproving mother, from Constellation Entertainment.

"Great Debaters," in production in Shreveport. Denzel Washington, who was in New Orleans for last year's "Deja Vu," directs and stars in a drama based on the true story of a professor at a small Texas college who inspires students to form the school's first debate team. Fellow Oscar winner Forest Whitaker is listed as a co-star in the film, from Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions.

"Major Movie Star," in pre-production in Shreveport. Steve Miner is reportedly set to direct pop star Jessica Simpson -- who filmed 2005's "Dukes of Hazzard" in New Orleans -- in a film about, you guessed it, a major movie star who enlists in the Marine Corps, from Millennium Films.